Curious Leadership with Dominic Monkhouse

Most service businesses drown in the chaos between what customers ask for and what they actually need. Kit Cox has spent over a decade building Enate to solve exactly that, an orchestration platform that helps B2B service providers cut through vagueness, assemble data, and deliver consistently exceptional service powered by both AI and human workforce.In this episode, Kit breaks down the three stages of service delivery, why culture trumps everything else as a founder, and how radical honesty, not "fake it till you make it" builds the customer relationships that actually last. He also shares why the best hires might have learned their most valuable skills in drama class, and why lawyers and IT departments as we know them might not survive the next decade.What you'll learn:🎯 The three critical stages of service delivery and where AI actually makes the difference💡 Why culture is the single most important thing a founder can build🤝 How brutal honesty creates stronger customer relationships than polished salesmanship🧠 The "thousand types of clever" needed to build a company (and why education only tests two of them)⚡ How to systematise hiring so you're finding values and attitude, not just skills🔍 Why "what are you most proud of?" reveals more about a candidate than any competency questionWho should listen:Founder-CEOs scaling B2B service or SaaS businesses, particularly those in the 50-100+ employee rangeCTOs and COOs managing complex service delivery operationsLeaders implementing AI and automation in service environmentsAnyone trying to move from bespoke chaos to scalable, repeatable customer successPodcast recommendations:13 Minutes to the Moon - BBC World Service - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w13xttx2Mindscape - Sean Carroll - https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/About the Guest:Kit Cox is the founder and CTO of Enate, an orchestration platform helping B2B service providers deliver exceptional services powered by AI and human teams. A manufacturing engineer by training and software engineer by passion, Kit has spent over a decade building Enate through three distinct phases, from bespoke services to a focused product for BPO providers, and now to a full-scale platform supporting service delivery in the age of generative AI.Under his leadership, Enate has grown to approximately 100 people across the UK and India, achieving 40% year-on-year growth and reaching profitability in 2023. The company secured investment from Scottish Equity Partners in 2023 and now serves some of the world's largest service providers with a laser-focused account-based approach targeting just 100 key companies.Kit is known for his commitment to culture-first leadership, his belief that successful customer relationships require radical honesty, and his conviction that it takes "a thousand different types of clever" to build a successful company, most of which aren't tested in traditional education. He champions curiosity as a hiring requirement and structures his company to act as one unified team across geographies, with India serving as a profit centre rather than just a cost-reduction play.Sign up to receive our weekly Curious Leadership newsletter:https://subscribe.monkhouseandcompany.comFollow Dominic on LinkedIn:https://linkedin.com/in/dominicmonkhouseChapters:00:00 Introduction01:42 The three lives of the business and early AI pivot  05:12 Five contrarian truths Kit believes about business and tech  07:56 Enate’s scale, global team breakdown and revenue growth  12:10 Why culture is a founder’s most vital responsibility  14:02 How values are taught, lived and kept alive at Enate  19:15 Brutal honesty as the foundation of long-term clients  22:05 How honesty leads to transformation and customer trust  26:16 Drama skills, sales success and the many types of clever  30:00 Hiring for values over credentials and traditional education  33:58 Why lawyers and IT departments are headed for extinction  37:44 The shift from IT-managed apps to integrated business tech  39:16 Scaling via customer success and embedded partnerships  42:36 Sales strategy, ABM focus and long buying cycles  44:46 Hiring systems, culture fit, and essential interview questions  49:04 Where Kit learns: podcasts, YouTube and curiosity sources

Some industries are easy to disrupt. Infrastructure isn’t one of them. But by focusing on adoption over features, clarity over complexity, and tempo over comfort, Shelley Copsey has built FYLD into a company reshaping how frontline operations work.In this episode, she breaks down the real levers of transformation: making work visible, removing friction, earning trust in high-risk environments, and rebuilding leadership as the company scales. Her insights go far beyond infrastructure - they’re a blueprint for any CEO trying to grow a company inside a resistant or complex market.What you’ll learn:🔍 The root causes of productivity breakdowns in scaling organisations🎯 How to build products teams genuinely adopt and rely on⚠️ Common failure points in organisational transformation — and how to overcome them⚡ Practical strategies for maintaining operational tempo as your company grows🧩 How to evolve leadership roles to match the organisation’s next stage🛰️ Why organisational visibility unlocks high-quality, high-speed decisionsWho should listen:Founder–CEOs and execs scaling teams, product, and operationsLeaders driving change in complex or fast-growing organisationsInvestors and operators focused on AI-enabled execution and productivityBook recommendations:Any Human Heart - William BoydAmp It Up - Frank SlootmanFour Thousand Weeks - Oliver BurkemanAbout the Guest:Shelley Copsey is the co-founder and CEO of FYLD, an AI-powered fieldwork platform transforming operations for major infrastructure and utilities companies. She leads the company’s rapid scale-up across multiple regions, helping organisations deliver safer, more efficient, data-driven fieldwork.With 25+ years across infrastructure, emerging tech, and organisational transformation, Shelley has founded, grown, and led multiple enterprise SaaS ventures. Her experience includes building GeoSLAM into a global geospatial leader (acquired by Faro), serving on the founding board of Coviu through its pandemic hypergrowth, and contributing to several CSIRO spinouts, including Emesent and PaidRight.A Chartered Accountant with senior roles at CSIRO’s Data61, PwC, and KPMG, she has completed executive education at MIT and Stanford focused on AI and innovation. Her work has been recognised by EY Entrepreneur of the Year, Sifted 100, Tech Nation Future Fifty, and Startups.co.uk’s Hottest UK AI Companies.Shelley is known for her leadership in AI adoption, scaling SaaS in complex industries, and delivering technology with real operational impact.Sign up to receive our weekly Curious Leadership newsletter:  https://subscribe.monkhouseandcompany.comFollow Dominic on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominicmonkhouse Chapters:00:02:04 - AI, Skill Shortages, and Industry Fallacies 00:04:25 - Worker Productivity and Motivation00:06:34 - Shelley’s Move to the UK and Founding Story00:08:24 - FYLD’s Growth Journey and Market Traction00:09:25 - AI’s Societal Impact and Future of Work00:11:45 - How FYLD’s Technology Works00:13:55 - ROI: Productivity vs. Safety00:15:28 - Adoption vs. Innovation in Construction00:17:35 - Productivity Decline and Safety Regulations00:20:22 - Scaling and CEO Time Management00:22:08 - Leadership Team Evolution00:23:58 - Board Composition and Support00:28:05 - Systems and Scaling: CRM and Sales Process 00:31:30 - Go-to-Market Strategy and Enterprise Sales00:33:58 - Hiring A-Players and Culture Fit00:36:29 - Handling Toxic Hires and Fast Exits00:36:52 - Book Recommendations00:39:45 - Maintaining Culture During Growth00:41:05 - Founder’s Role in Induction and Culture00:42:17 - Work-Life Balance and Passion

Most enterprise AI projects crash long before take-off. Hype, bad data, cultural resistance, and “enterprise chaos” stop even the biggest organisations from getting value.In this episode, Dominic speaks with Steve Salvin, founder & CEO of Aiimi, a data and AI company helping large organisations connect the messy, disconnected worlds of data, content, conversations, and operational history - and finally extract the insights buried inside.Steve explains why most companies are still on “the first rung of the ladder,” why linking LLMs to enterprise data often backfires, and why the real breakthroughs come from agentic systems doing work humans can’t (or won’t). He also breaks down how to drive adoption inside your own teams, build a culture that celebrates experimentation and failure, and reinvent your leadership style as your company scales.If you want to replace AI hype with genuine enterprise value - start here.What you’ll learn:💡 Why most organisations' data is too messy for GenAI to be useful💡 The real difference between adaptive intelligence and token-prediction tools💡 Why culture, not technology, derails adoption💡 Power tools, champions, and performance management💡 When to stop doing the work and start running the business💡 The questions that reveal whether a candidate will raise the barWho should listen:Founder-CEOs scaling from 30–150 people, CTOs/COOs trying to make AI stick, data/AI leaders, transformation teams, and operators frustrated that their organisation is “doing AI” without getting any value from it.Book recommendations:Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway - Susan JeffersFierce Conversations - Susan ScottHope Is Not A Strategy - Rick PageAbout the Guest:Steve Salvin is the founder and CEO of Aiimi, a leading British AI company which he has bootstrapped since its launch in 2013. Their tech helps teams find, make sense of and retain control over their data, and is used by various FTSE100 companies as well as the likes of the FCA, PwC, and the UK government. Having worked in tech since the 80s, Steve is a serial entrepreneur and is passionate about building AI that empowers users and gives them more control.Sign up to receive our weekly Curious Leadership newsletter:  https://subscribe.monkhouseandcompany.comFollow Dominic on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominicmonkhouse Chapters00:01:44 - Aiimi's Founding Vision00:02:52 - Disconnected Corporate Data00:04:07 - Unlocking Value from Corporate Conversations00:06:20 - AI Hype vs. Reality in Enterprises 00:08:45 - AI: Then and Now00:11:36 - Practical AI Use Cases in Enterprises00:13:35 - Extracting Knowledge from Calls and Messages00:15:24 - AI’s Impact on Jobs and Productivity00:17:25 - AI Adoption: Leadership & Cultural Change00:20:01 - Engineering Teams & AI Power Tools00:23:09 - Curiosity as a Leadership Requirement00:24:34 - Celebrating Failure00:27:26 - Agile, Experimentation, and Failing Fast00:28:09 - Steve’s CEO Evolution & Leadership Lessons00:32:02 - Book Recommendations

Can optimism really scale a company?In this episode, Dominic chats to Dan Williams, CEO of Orean Personal Care, to explore what it really takes to lead through chaos - from doubling revenue in tough markets to leading with vulnerability, optimism, and Ironman-level discipline.Under Dan’s leadership, Orean has grown from £3M to £30M turnover, becoming one of the UK’s fastest-growing contract manufacturers in the beauty industry — all while achieving B Corp certification and building a culture rooted in learning and care.What you’ll learn:💪 How training for an Ironman reshaped Dan’s mindset as a CEO💡 The power of optimism when leading through adversity❤️ Why vulnerability builds trust faster than authority ever could🏭 How Orean scaled without losing its culture or values📈 What it takes to grow sustainably - from £3M to £30MIf you’re a founder or CEO navigating the messy middle of growth — trying to scale your team, your systems, and your mindset — this is a masterclass in how to stay human while building something extraordinary.Book recommendations:Unbeatable Mind - Mark DivineThe Obstacle is the Way - Ryan HolidayStart With Why - Simon SinekMan's Search for Meaning - Viktor E FranklAbout the guest:Dan Williams is the CEO of Orean Personal Care, a UK-based contract manufacturer producing premium skincare, haircare, and wellness products for some of the world’s most innovative beauty brands.Under his leadership, Orean has grown tenfold in revenue and achieved B Corp certification, balancing profit with purpose.A lifelong endurance athlete, Dan brings his Ironman mindset into business — combining optimism, resilience, and relentless learning to build a company culture defined by progress, not perfection.Sign up to receive our weekly Curious Leadership newsletter:  https://subscribe.monkhouseandcompany.comFollow Dominic on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominicmonkhouse Chapters:00:01:00 - Dan Williams: Background and Personal Life00:01:32 - Business Growth Journey00:03:39 - The Importance of Optimism00:04:53 - Vulnerability as a Strength in Leadership00:06:44 - Challenges of Turnarounds and Maintaining Energy00:08:24 - The Role of Sports in Personal Development00:10:42 - Achieving Goals Through Determination00:12:05 - The Impact of Belief and Support00:13:22 - Leadership and Management Styles00:16:03 - Promoting from Within vs. Hiring Externally00:18:05 - Succession Planning and Employee Development00:21:06 - Overview of Orean's Business Model00:23:34 - Curiosity and Understanding Customer Needs00:27:14 - Establishing a Five-Year Vision00:30:02 - Building a Strategy for Growth00:32:29 - Evolving Leadership Team Dynamics00:33:09 - Time Management and Work-Life Balance35:00.00 - Navigating Challenges in Leadership37:19.00 - Balancing Passion and Time Management as a CEO42:13.00 - Finding Balance Between Passion and Life43:19.00 - Effective Hiring Strategies and Lessons Learned45:23.00 - Mastering the Art of Interviewing49:02.00 - Book Recommendations

AI hype is everywhere - but most of it is just noise. This episode cuts through it.Dominic digs into what real artificial intelligence actually looks like with Daniel Hulme, Chief AI Officer at WPP and founder of Satalia and Conscium.They explore why most so-called “AI projects” are really just automation in disguise, how to spot where genuine adaptive intelligence can unlock value, and what’s coming next - from synthetic audiences that test creative before launch, to the race toward conscious machines.What you’ll learn:Why most “AI” isn’t intelligent - and how to tell the differenceWhere companies are misinvesting in generative toolsHow WPP uses AI to transform creativity and decision-makingWhy adaptive systems (not shiny models) are the real future of businessHow Daniel thinks about consciousness, empathy, and what humanity looks like in an AI-powered worldBook recommendations:Behave - Robert SapolskySurviving AI - Calum ChaceGenesis - Craig Mundie & Eric Schmidt About the Guest:Dr. Daniel Hulme is one of the UK’s leading voices in applied AI, ethics, and technology.He’s Chief AI Officer at WPP, where he leads strategy and deployment of AI across 100,000 people, and Founder & CEO of Satalia, the AI company he started from his PhD and later sold to WPP for a reported $100 million.Daniel recently co-founded Conscium, an AI safety company that tests and verifies AI agents - and is exploring whether machines could soon become conscious.He holds a PhD in Artificial Intelligence from UCL, where he’s also Entrepreneur in Residence, and was named by AI Magazine as one of the Top 10 Chief AI Officers globally.Who should listen:CMOs/CEOs/COOs, data/AI leaders, product & strategy teams, and founders deciding where to place AI bets (and what not to build in-house).Sign up to receive our weekly Curious Leadership newsletter:  https://subscribe.monkhouseandcompany.comFollow Dominic on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominicmonkhouse